CLARKSVILLE — The son of a Hagarville woman found dead in her home Monday is suspected of killing his mother, Johnson County officials said Wednesday.

A press release from Johnson County Sheriff Jimmy Dorney stated Tommy Bowden, 48, is expected to face first-degree murder charges in connection with the slaying of 71-year-old Julie Richardson, who was discovered dead by neighbors after they could not reach her by telephone. Bowden was arrested Tuesday by Yell County authorities and Arkansas State Police on unrelated charges, Dorney said, adding investigators with his office were searching a storage unit in Dardanelle.

The release stated investigators would not discuss the nature of Richardson's death or evidence collected at her home and during subsequent interviews. Richardson's body was sent to the state Crime Lab for an autopsy.

"There were many rumors circulating throughout the community by word of mouth and social networking sites and as much as we wanted to comment on those, again, we could not so as not to interfere with our own investigation," Dorney said in the release.

Dorney said in an interview that Bowden would be held in Yell County pending the filing of formal charges.

Dorney said in the release that officers from Johnson, Pope, Franklin and Yell counties as well as officers from the Arkansas State Police and U.S. Forest Service assisted in the investigation and subsequent arrest.

"We couldn't have done as well without (Pope County) Sheriff (Aaron) DuVall and his staff, (Yell County) Sheriff (Bill) Gilkey and his staff and the Arkansas State Police in the Russellville area," Dorney said. "We truly appreciate them."